The Belligerent Miss Boynton AND The Lurid Lady Lockport (Two Companion Full-Length Regency Novels) by Kasey Michaels Read Free Book Online Page A

front of her and take him along to Harrow, even if it would slow her progress.
    After that, however, Amanda's plans were vague, as her plans usually were. Amanda operated on a grand scale, painting her plans with a wide brush, leaving all those niggling details for lesser minds—like Jared Delaney's.
    Delaney! God's teeth! She had forgotten all about the dratted man. She looked own the road behind her and, her heart sinking, saw dust rising in the distance.
    "Damn and blast! Now I'm in the basket for sure. Up, Tom. You must get up. We have to ride, now!" But Tom had fallen dead-asleep in her arms and, though slight, he was still far too heavy for Amanda to lift onto the mare's back.
    She sighed, looked down the road again, and resigned herself to her fate.
    It was not too many minutes before Jared reined in his mount before the seated Amanda, his deep blue eyes widening just slightly at the sight of the now wide-awake and definitely wary bundle in her arms.
    Jared dismounted and walked full around the seated pair without saying a word, two sets of wide, anxious eyes following his every movement. When he finally spoke, his voice was maddeningly calm and somewhat amused. "You do have a penchant for consorting with the most outlandish creatures, imp."
    Tom could feel his rescuer's arms tighten about him, and he jumped up to defend the beautiful lady from this nasty man. "Yer shove off and leave me loidy be, Guv'nor! Her be a fine loidy and me frien', and 'less yer want a pop on the noggin' yer'll take yerself away."
    Jared threw up his hands in surrender. "Well, well, Amanda. Once again you've managed to discover a champion. First I must contend with an irate innkeeper and his simpleton daughter, and now you've somehow enlisted this young gallant to fight your battles. I must admit I'm impressed." He turned his attention to the boy. "Have no fear, lad, I'll not hurt your lady. We're old friends." He winked at Amanda, his intention clear. "Isn't that right, my dear?"
    Amanda's gaze went from Tom, to Jared, and back to the boy once more. It would accomplish nothing to upset Tom further, for the child was wavering on his feet and looked ready to drop from fatigue. "It's true, Tom, Lord Storm is indeed my friend—and now he's your friend, too."
    "Yes, yes. Indeed. Such a jolly, jolly trio of chums," Jared agreed happily, so that Amanda longed to hit him. "Through thick, through thin; friends forever, and all that."
    She glared at him, saying, "In fact, Lord Storm is such a good friend that he's going to let you ride up in front of him all the way to my home, where my groom, Harrow, will fill your belly with some good food and find you a bed for the night." She smiled broadly at Jared, not having won the war, surely, but at least not entirely losing this particular battle. "Isn't that right, my lord?"
    Jared eyed the boy and could see the fear and fatigue on his face. If he were the sort to keep score, he thought, he would have to say that he owed one Miss Amanda Boynton at least a crushing setdown and a brace of stern lectures on the perfidy of women who seek their pleasure in making utter fools of extremely good, excruciatingly kind and forbearing gentlemen.
    But now, clearly, was not the time for any such personally soothing indulgences on his part. Shrugging as he mentally consigned his entire suit of clothes to the rubbish bin, Jared then leaned down and hoisted the filthy-dirty boy into his arms. "Right you are, Miss Boynton. Now, up you go, lad. You just sit here on Devil until I help Miss Boynton mount. I'll be up behind you in a moment."
    As he offered his hand to Amanda he whispered between gritted teeth, "if you felt in such dire need of a chaperon, Amanda, I think the chit at the inn would have been a better choice. She was a regular dragon in your defense." Then he picked her up and set her down none too gently on the mare's back.
    Amanda giggled as she adjusted her skirts around her ankles and back over the horse's